Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Progression Into Super Mode

Sounds like an additional level or an upgrade in a video game don't you think? Seriously though, there are ways to progress in any area of fitness or sports, you start somewhere most likely at the very bottom of the totem pole. Unless you're superman, you're not going to have the strength to lift 100 tons in a press; you can however progress to heavier weight with specific strategy. You're not going to be as fast as the Flash or Usain Bolt but you can build up a level of explosiveness and speed that would take down the average guy and you sure as hell won't have the stamina like Lance Armstrong or Jack Lalanne, yet you can progressively have greater endurance than when you started with if you follow a good system. I believe in finding creative ways to achieve levels of strength, endurance, flexibility and all others without risking major injury, I just don't condone it and getting hurt as a badge of honor is just idiotic in most cases. I do believe in taking yourself past your limits but in a safe manner that doesn't involve scarring, tearing muscles everywhere and even ripping out joints. I have pushed myself this past month using the Superhero Sprint System and to most people on paper looks ridiculously deranged and I should be put in the nuthouse but in reality I have tweaked it a bit that still has nearly the same principles of the program but to my liking and it's working. I can hear my fat crying and screaming in agony like the Wicked Witch Of The West (not the Mila Kunis version). I have pushed so hard these last couple workouts I look like I'm ready to drop dead but in fact I'm just waiting for that opportune moment for when my body and mind are ready I blast on it like a bat out of hell.

It is not your job to push past limits that are set by someone else. Nobody ever should decide what limits you should be past or "can" past because they don't have your body, they don't have your possible injuries or what your mental establishment is. I have people pushed me because I didn't know at times how far I can take it, they didn't set a bar for me to push towards, all I did was ask for a little nudge that I normally wouldn't do when I'm alone, there's a difference between pushing the limits set by someone and pushing because you want the push. Work within your own limits and set the bar your way no matter how small or big even by the tiniest fraction. You're not going to be the next John Cena or the next Kobe Bryant or take it harder than Bruce Lee it's impossible to reach their level; you can either be way beyond them or fairly under their level but never exactly like them so prioritize the standards for which you set. This is one of the reasons why I can't stand some of the crossfit stuff or that dumb ass P-90X crap or even those magazine workouts, most are not that sustainable, it's difficult to follow someone on film in exact moments without feeling like you're going to die and he's on camera looking like he just got laid after his wife came home and why in the hell would you want to beat some other time clock on a dumbass name of a workout that is meant to make you sound like a weakling? You have one body and one life, be creative and set your own bar not the bar chosen for you, come on you're better than that.

There is a difference between training hard and training smart; some look at training hard is pushing to failure every workout and push to the limits like they're in Dragon Ball Z (which can be a motivator in some cases) and others look at training smart as being cautious and being a scared twerp with the complexity of a five year old and thinking they're being "smart" about what they're doing. Training hard from my observation for the true warriors is taking things to another level and putting yourself to the test that requires focus and physicality for which you get as high as possible in what you do; smart training is based on strategy for how you handle a progressive load whether it be an amount of weight or sets/reps you have concocted and how you move on reaching a higher level one step at a time. When you combine the two despite the differences you're taking your limits to another realm based on your knowledge and wisdom of what makes it work and what might happen. You have the abilities to create your own style of training and what prompts you to make it work. Don't beat yourself up because you don't have incredibly insane strength yet, it will come when you make the decision to progressively get up that part of your mountain. Just because you didn't beat the clock doesn't mean it wasn't a great workout, you did and it came out the way it was meant to.

Here's an outlook of my current training so far: First 3 weeks of training have had me run in place (sprint), do a circuit and Sprint again; I don't push so hard that I pass out or have a heart attack but I push enough to where I'm aware of what's happening and I can still think within my body as I breathe deeply and rest for as long as I need to. I have completed every workout I put myself through without fail and still managed to keep my sanity and not be put in an iron lung. The last couple workouts had me out on the field doing 2 brutal sprints and a circuit & repeating that 4 times; sounds crazy right? Here's the kicker; first off the circuits are actually tougher than the sprints, at least from what I've noticed but for the most part on the sprints, I don't go 100% full speed because if I did, I would not only tear something but my lungs would be so messed up that an Iron Lung wouldn't even begin to work so I go as fast as I can but at a certain percentage so I can still maintain myself in the workout. It's still brutal and only rest when I need to but I have created a blueprint in my mind of what I want to do and go with my intuition on how it'll play out. You can't lose if you develop your own blueprint, you can make mistakes and you're going to have to correct them but there's nothing to lose on when you have devised the strategy yourself. Test your limits the right way and you'll be on your way to gain that Super Mode of muscle, fat burning, weight loss, endurance and gaining a perspective on how you train with the right amount of intensity, strategic sets and reps and making a statement that the workout doesn't own you, you own it and it's your bitch.